


It's My Choice

by starrnobella



Series: Birthday Bonanza [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday Bonanza, Department of Mysteries (Harry Potter), Draco's Den's Roll-A-Drabble, F/M, Gen, Hermione's Haven Bingo 2021, Mentions of affair, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Past Relationship(s), Scattergories, guilty pleasure ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 13:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30106833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/pseuds/starrnobella
Summary: Following the same routine day after day can be draining and Hermione finally started to feel that drain. Can Theo help her realize there is more to life than working your way through the ranks at the Ministry until she loses her chance to have any fun?
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Theodore Nott, past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley - Relationship
Series: Birthday Bonanza [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136264
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: 31 Days of Shipping Challenge - Spring 2021, Birthday Bonanza, Draco's Drabbles, Draco’s Den Scattergories, Hermione's Haven Bingo 2021





	It's My Choice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GaeilgeRua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaeilgeRua/gifts).



> A/N: This was written for Hermione's Haven during #HHBingo21 and for the January Roll A Drabble in Draco's Den. This story filled square N4 - "Set the past on fire and just leave." - Gossip Girl. My roll for RaD was Theodore Nott and Soulmates. This was also used for Draco's Den's Scattergories event for round 3 - the roll was WILD so I picked the letter N. My items to include were: Theodore Nott, Nox, Not A Date, Nicholas Flamel's Crystal Ball, Napkin, Notebook, and Nothern Lights. Additionally, I wrote this story as my Guilty Pleasure ship as part of the 31 Days of Shipping Challenge!
> 
> Beta work was done by Grammarly, Kristen, and xxDustNight88
> 
> This story was written for part of my event Birthday Bonanza, an event celebrating birthdays after the miserable year that 2020 turned out to be. The third recipient of a story for Birthday Bonanza was GaeilgeRua! Happy birthday!
> 
> Be sure to let me know what you think!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

Hermione Granger was the brightest witch of her age and at the top of her class at Hogwarts. Using the knowledge and skills she had learned with her time at Hogwarts, she managed to work her way through the Ministry to be next in line for a position in the Minister's cabinet. A job in the Minister's cabinet was a stepping stone towards her ultimate goal, becoming the next Minister of Magic. There was no denying she had learned from the best, but Hermione knew that the Wizarding world was ready for a change, and she was just the person to make that happen.

Being of Muggle descent, Hermione had been met with her fair share of challenges, but she always overcame them with grace, standing out to anyone who was watching. She knew there was a crowd of witches and wizards waiting for her to fail. She had felt it during her time at Hogwarts, and she felt it now. The desire from others to see her fail fueled her fire to prove them wrong, no matter how it affected her relationships with her friends and lovers.

She refused to allow herself to be distracted by silly little things like people who didn't really want to be with her, which was why she was gathering as many of her belongings as she could shove into her purse this morning. She needed to get the hell out of this flat and never look back. There was no amount of apologizing that Ron could do to get her to change her mind. This was the final straw.

"We need to talk about this, 'Mione," Ron insisted, chasing her down the hall of their flat and making a mad dash for the door. He wasn't about to let her walk out of here. If she left, he might never see her again. "You can't just tell me it's over and expect me not to ask any questions."

"You didn't seem to care what I thought when you were snogging Lavender in the back booth at the Leaky Cauldron last night," Hermione quipped, shaking her head as she continued toward the door. "I can't talk about this right now. I'm going to be late for work."

"How'd you?" Ron began, hanging his head as Hermione stopped, dead in her tracks to turn and face him.

"I saw you," she hissed, looking him up and down as she shook her head. "We were supposed to meet for dinner. When I walked into the pub, I felt the hush fall over the crowd when they realized who I was. Then the barkeep pointed to the back corner with an apologetic look on his face. That's when I noticed the familiar blonde hanging all over my fiancé."

The silence was the confirmation that Hermione needed, pulling his engagement ring off her finger and offering it to him. She could feel a few tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, but she knew the tears weren't sadness. They were tears of anger because she thought she knew him better than it turned out. She thought he was her soulmate after everything they had been through, but as it turns out, she was wrong.

"'Mione," Ron whimpered, reaching out to take the ring from her. "We can get through this."

"This is something we just get through, Ronald. You choose another watch over me," Hermione replied, taking a deep breath and crossing her arms over her chest. "We're done. I'll send someone for my stuff. Don't owl me."

She spun on her heels and walked to the door without looking back. It was time to burn this bridge and never look back. That particular chapter of her life was closed, and she was looking forward to what the rest of her book was going to hold for her. However, right now, her focus needed to be on getting out of this flat and on her way to work.

Pulling the door open, Hermione inhaled sharply as she walked out and slammed the door behind her. A very small part hoped he would chase after her, but ultimately, Hermione knew she was doing what was best for her in this situation. Thankfully, the stack of files waiting on her desk would keep her distracted for the rest of the day—that and finding a place to live.

Once Hermione got outside of their building, she apparated to the Ministry - the fight with Ronald pushed to the back of her mind as she got ready to busy herself with department meetings and whatever else the Minister had planned for her today. She hurried on inside, keeping her head down as she moved towards the elevator.

"Hold the elevator!" A voice called, pulling Hermione's attention from the floor to the elevator doors, where she noticed a hand sticking through to force the doors open once again.

She reached for the button to open the doors and offered up a smile as she saw Theodore Nott standing on the other side. "Sorry about that, Nott. I was distracted by my own thoughts and didn't see anyone coming up behind me."

"It's okay," Theo replied, flashing a smile at her as he leaned up against the wall of the elevator. "Is everything okay with you? I heard about Weasley. Well, actually, I didn't hear about it. I saw you both at the Cauldron last night, and I chased after you, but by the time I got outside, you were gone."

Hermione cocked her head to the side as she looked him up and down. "You chased after me? Why would you do that?"

Theo shrugged his shoulders. "To make sure you were okay."

"Okay," Hermione said, nodding her head slowly as she turned her attention back to the door of the elevator. She stared up at the floor numbers, urging them to speed up so she could hide away in her office to forget the last twenty-four hours. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes for a few moments. The ding of the elevator forced her to open her eyes and exhale the breath she had been holding as she stepped towards the door. "Have a good day, Nott. I'll see you around."

"Actually," Theo laughed, following her out of the elevator and down the hallway. "We've got a meeting this morning. First up on your schedule, I believe."

Hermione furrowed her brow. glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as she hurried her pace toward her office door. "I don't have a meeting with the Department of Mysteries today. That meeting isn't until Monday."

"Today is Monday, Granger," Theo replied, shaking his head as he caught up to her and kept pace with the curly-haired witch. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Hermione replied, carding a hand through her hair as she sighed. "Just lost track of my days, apparently. I'll meet you in the conference room."

"See you there," Theo said, saluting her as he turned down the hall and made his way to his office.

Hermione watched as he made his way through the crowd of people lining the halls. She shook her head with a laugh. Theodore Nott was a fascinating man. She remembered hearing stories of his success at Hogwarts, stories that gave her own achievements a run for their money. Once he disappeared from view, Hermione turned and made her way down the opposite hall towards her office. She had a meeting to get prepared for, apparently. She pulled the door to her office closed behind her before settling in at her desk. After this meeting with Theo, she needed to start a list of everything she needed to get out of her old flat and start looking for a new place to call home.

Hermione busied herself with filing away the last of the papers that were cluttering her desk, sorting through each one as a distraction from everything else that was racing around in her mind. Suddenly a knock at her door pulled her attention away from the files and up to the clock on the wall. "Bloody hell," she mumbled, grabbing her notebook off her desk and quickly making her way over to the door. Pulling it open, she was greeted by Theo's smiling face looking down at her.

"You forgot about me again," Theo teased, pouting his lower lip as he leaned up against her door frame.

"I'm so sorry," Hermione insisted, ushering him inside. "My desk was a mess when I got in here, and I must have lost track of time. Please come in and let's have our meeting here. I checked my schedule; we're talking about the next case that's supposed to take you stateside so that I can get the Minister's support for you, and we can ship you off in search of your next great mystery."

"You owe me," Theo replied, pushing off the door as he stepped inside Hermione's office and kicked the door closed behind him. He smiled as he watched Hermione walk towards her desk and got herself situated behind the desk. She opened her notebook and picked up a pen before crossing her arms, resting them against the desk.

"What did you have in mind?" Hermione hummed, smiling coyly at him. She pointed to the empty chair across from her. "Take a seat, Theo. Let's talk about this trip of yours."

"I have a better idea," Theo said, winking as he reached for Hermione's hand. "Come with me."

Hermione looked at the hand offered to her with a puzzled look on her face. She glanced up at Theo's face and noticed the smirk plastered across his face, causing her to laugh as she ignored his hand for a moment, turning to grab her bag. She slipped her notebook and pen inside before turning her attention back to him. Hermione took a deep breath and took his hand as she stood from her desk. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Theo insisted, pulling her along behind him as they moved toward the door. Opening the door, Theo stepped out and waited for Hermione to follow him.

"At least tell me if we are leaving the Ministry," Hermione said, stopping just shy of the door and crossing her arms over her chest.

Theo let out a sigh and rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "We aren't leaving the Ministry. Just trust me," he pleaded, batting his lashes at her.

Hermione pursed her lips and looked him up and down before taking one last look around her office. She had everything needed but forgot to turn off the light by her desk. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her wand and aimed it toward the lamp. "Nox," she whispered, watching the light fade away, shaking her head as she followed Theo out of the door. "You better not be tricking me."

"I make no promises," Theo replied, offering his hand once more, which Hermione took graciously with a smile on her face. He laughed when he noticed the smile on Hermione's face. She needed a chance to get away, even if it was just to the Department of Mysteries vault for a little while. At least there she could have some fun.

After a quiet elevator ride down to the vaults, Hermione was starting to piece together his plan, and she couldn't help but smile. It was a good idea. Find a quick and easy way to distract her before pitching his latest travel plans. She was jealous of his life. She would give anything just to pick up and take off around the world without a care in the world who or what she left behind. While on these exciting adventures, Theo got to find all kinds of interesting artifacts and bring them back to the Ministry for them to be studied. She was in awe of the stories that he had to tell about his adventures and the interesting things he'd seen.

"You can't tell anyone I brought you down here," Theo said, stopping in front of the door to the Department of Mysteries vault as he turned to look at Hermione. "And I mean anyone."

"I won't say anything," Hermione promised, smiling at him with a wink. "It'll be our little secret date in the vaults."

Theo furrowed his brow and shook his head. "It's not a date," he insisted. "Just a friend trying to make another friend feel better."

Hermione rolled her eyes. He had a point. They had never talked about the potential of dating, and she had just dumped her fiance this morning. She wasn't ready to move on just yet. "Okay, fine. Not a date. Can we go inside now?"

Theo laughed and turned to the door. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and aimed it at the lock. Hermione heard him whisper a spell, but she didn't recognize it. She tilted her head to the side as she watched the lock slowly come undone. Turning her attention to him, she opened her mouth to ask but stopped short when he held his finger up.

"No questions about the spell. I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to," he said, pushing the door open for her. "Witches first."

Hermione nodded, taking a few cautious steps inside. As they entered, the room lit up, and Hermione could see all of the artifacts lining the shelves. There were years worth of adventures whose stories were just dying to be told, and she knew that outside this room, there were more mysteries just waiting to be discovered. She began wandering aimlessly down the first aisle of artifacts, taking in the uniqueness of each item. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the sparkle of a crystal ball in the back of the shelf.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, reaching out to grab ahold of the crystal ball and carrying it out into the light. She studied the light refracting against the wall. "It's beautiful."

"It belongs to an old friend of ours," Theo replied, leaning up against the shelf as he observed Hermione. He could tell she was mesmerized by the artifacts she had seen so far, and of course, the sparkling one caught her eye. "Nearly-Headless Nick left it behind at the castle in a previous life. He kept giving me hints as to where I could find it using our time in school, but I was too oblivious when I was younger - at least until after the war."

"Why did he have a crystal ball?" Hermione asked, rotating the ball around in her hands as she shook her head. She knew that Nicholas Flamel was a man of many stories, so she wasn't sure how quickly she would be to agree with him. It made for great conversation at parties when there was no one else to talk to in the castle.

"He fell in love with a gypsy," Theo replied, shrugging his shoulders as he reached out to take the crystal ball from Hermione, holding it up to the light. The sparkle was taking over the room. It was beautiful. "He claims she was his soulmate, but he had to leave her behind when the First Wizarding War began. This was the only memory he had left of her. He wanted the Ministry to have it to prove that Muggles weren't as terrible as the governing body made them out to be."

Hermione watched as Theo returned the crystal ball to its stand on the shelf and made his way down the rest of the aisle. She followed closely behind him, listening to the stories of each item of note he found. After a while, Hermione stopped in her tracks and started laughing at herself.

"What's so funny?" Theo asked, turning to face her with a smirk on his face. He wanted to join in the laughter, but he wanted to know why they would be laughing. He couldn't help the smirk on his face turning into a full-blown smile.

"I'm jealous of a room full of artifacts," Hermione laughed, shaking her head as she waved her arms around at the room. She took a few steps into the next aisle and searched for the next item she would make Theo tell her all about. "I'm jealous of all of the stories that they hold and the adventures that people went on to find them. All I've done is push papers and worked my way into a permanent desk job.."

"So come with me," Theo replied, closing the space between the two of them as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I could use a partner for this next excursion, and I think you, of all people, would be perfect for the job."

"Why is that?" Hermione asked, squaring up to him with her hands on her hips. "I don't even know where you're going."

"Because," Theo began, reaching out to place a gentle hand on Hermione's shoulder. "You deserve a break from everything. You need to say to hell with your past and start a brand new adventure."

"As beautiful as that sounds, I've got responsibilities here," Hermione replied. "I'm trying to be the next Minister of Magic, and if I take off, then that most likely won't happen."

"Don't you want to experience what it's like to experience the world outside of your little office space taking orders from someone who sees you as just an intern?"

"The Minister does not see me as an intern," Hermione said with a huff. "I'm his protege."

Theo tossed his head back with a laugh as he scrubbed a hand over his face. "You're pigeonholing yourself, Granger."

"No, I'm not!" Hermione yelled, brushing past him as she mumbled under her breath. "I am working my way up the chain of command."

"Sounds pretty boring to me. Do you want to know what I'm chasing after on this next trip to the states?" Theo asked.

"Isn't that why we're even talking?" she grumbled, glancing back at him over her shoulder. She could sense him eyeing her up and down. As infuriating as she found this situation, she knew he was right. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she kept being a yes woman for the Minister.

"Have you heard of the Northern Lights?" Theo asked, smirking as she slowly turned around at his question.

"You're going in search of aurora borealis?" Hermione asked, her voice dripping with awe. "How do you get all of the cool cases, and I get stuck with paperwork?"

Theo laughed, walking over to her and cupping her face with his hands. "Because I chose to live my life by taking chances and burning the bridges connected to my past, leaving it all behind."

Hermione took a deep breath, taking a few moments to think about his offer and everything he had said since they entered this room. It was all so tempting, but the shiny things in life always were. If she stuck to her plan, she could be one of the youngest Ministers in the history of the Ministry. But if she took off with Theo, she could follow her heart and forget her past, never looking back.

"I need a piece of paper," she exclaimed, rummaging around in her bag in search of a pen.

Theo cocked his head to the side and began looking around the room, patting down his pockets. He smiled when he felt something crumpled up in his pocket. He reached inside and pulled out a piece of paper. "I've got a napkin."

"Perfect," Hermione said, smiling as she snatched it out of his hand. She began scribbling something down, but Theo couldn't tell what she was writing. "It's perfect timing. I just need to send this off with an owl to Ronald, and then we can go talk to the Minister about changing my specialty."

"Are you sure about this?" Theo asked; his heart began beating faster as he waited for her answer. He had always found Hermione intriguing, and now he would get the chance to learn more about her.

"Absolutely," Hermione replied, folding the napkin and walking over to the window. She pushed it open, and within a few minutes, an owl appeared at the window. "Take this to Weasley. I'm taking back control of my own life."


End file.
